Nick Gardewine, Chad Green Pitch College Wins

Published on April 15 2013 10:03 am
Last Updated on April 15 2013 10:03 am
Written by Millie Lange

Gardewine Pitches Victory for Kaskaskia

In Game 1 Friday Kaskaskia College got a strong pitching performance from Nick Gardewine, Effingham High School graduate, and beat Olney 9-4.

Gardewine went six innings giving up three runs and striking out six. Chris Stevens hit a three run homer in the fourth inning to give KC a 6-3 lead. KC added three more runs and Olney got one more in the eighth.

In the first game Saturday, Olney scored six runs in the first two innings before KC started climbing back behind back-to-back home runs by Kyle Emig and Chase Fieldhouse and another three run home run by Chris Stevens. With a 6-5 deficit heading into the seventh, KC took the lead on a two out, two run single by Kyle Floyd but Olney got three more runs in the eighth and won 9-7.

In the rubber game, KC won 8-3 with Chris Stevens having a multi hit game and three RBI's. Kaskaskia is now 19-9 overall and 12-6 in the GRAC. The squad will play a doubleheader Wednesday against Lindenwood.

Chad Green Pitches Career Best Game

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Junior outfielder Coco Johnson’s solo home run kicked off a nine-run eighth inning while junior righty Chad Green (Effingham High School) allowed only one run in a career best eight innings as the No. 8 Louisville baseball team took a 10-1 series-opening win over visiting Elon on Friday night at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Johnson (Benton Harbor, Mich./Central Arizona) belted the first pitch of the at-bat from Elon starter Dylan Clark over the left field wall for his second home run of the season and a 2-1 lead for the Cardinals (26-7). Johnson, who was 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, added a two-run single later in the eighth as Louisville sent 14 batters to the plate in their highest scoring inning of the season.

On the mound, Green allowed only one run on five hits with five strikeouts while surpassing his previous career best outing of seven innings accomplished three times this season. Green faced just two over the minimum in his eight innings while retiring 13 of the last 14 batters he faced as he improved to 5-2 on the season and lowered his overall ERA to 2.15.

“I thought I threw well tonight and I could throw all three pitches for strikes,” Green said. “I think I got better as the game went on. Early, I threw a lot of fastballs and change-ups and later, it was more fastballs and sliders. I thought this was my best I’ve thrown for a longer period of time rather than just one inning or two innings.”

Overall, Louisville finished with a 12-5 advantage in hits against Elon (20-16). Junior catcher Shane Crain (Lexington, Ky./Wabash Valley CC) was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, while junior outfielder Cole Sturgeon (Owensboro, Ky./Owensboro Catholic HS) went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Sophomore shortstop Sutton Whiting (New Wilmington, Pa./Louisville Ballard HS) was 2-for-3 with a stolen base and scored once, while junior third baseman Ty Young (Coatesville, Pa./Malvern Prep) singled, walked, stole a career best three bases and scored once.

With their sixth shutout of the season, the Cardinals improved to 28-7 overall and clinched their sixth series sweep of 2013. The visiting Phoenix dropped to 20-18 on the season after suffering their first sweep of the season.